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After looking all day I like these three knives and I think are actually in my price range. I am not sure why knifewear.com lists the yuki as awesome and the mizu as awesomer (any ideas). The yuki and furinkazan look very very similar. I like that the later can be requested thin which appeals to me.

If you have seen any of my other posts you probably know I am looking at a 240mm Gyuto for home cooking as my first real japanese knife to be used in place of my current shun sanoku.

Ya I have been to knifewear in Calgary several times already :P Talked to a bunch of the guys there and tried a bunch of knives however last time I just bought a hone. An older guy there was recommending the mizu but I didn't like the handle. The next two he recommended were double the price, $300ish, so I didn't just go for one
I went to a nice shop in Toronto a couple weeks back too but forget the name. Also went to hacker and crane and he just told me how crappy a lot of the japanese knives were.

I am sure I am annoying the heck out of the guys in Calgary already. I am really just stressing cause I am a student and shouldn't be spending $200 bucks on a knife I don't really need but want badly for some reason. I blame the internet

ps Sorry for all the posts in a row on this board, I went over board I know

Many people tend to attempt to decide their knife based on the brand of steel, that can be a mistake. The heat treatment that a knife goes through is far more important. You should consider the characteristics of any given steel to be the potential that steel can achieve.

Given optimal heat treatment, the difference between white 2 and blue 2 is going to be nearly imperceptible to all but the most accomplished knife sharpeners. If you're inexperienced with high quality Japanese knives, both will get sharper than anything you've handled before.

Looking at your pics, I'd choose the mizu, just because I like the profile more, and I've seen some fu-rin-ka-zan's with some dubious fit and finish. That said the steel and heat-treat has been sound.

When reading Jon's post from kf a couple of years ago its important to view it in this context. The guy spends all day every day handling and sharpening high end knives and his knife 'palate' is attuned to things that most people won't even notice. All of the hitachi steels have the potential to make world-class kick-ass knives.

Buy the knife that you think looks cool, learn to sharpen well and it will gives you many years of very happy use.

Yes Preferably with a japanese style handle in stead of a western style one but not with a plastic ferrule. I like thin, I like light. Would prefer sharp to edge retention I think if I have to choose.

Jon,

I'm not sure that any of the three you listed meet your "I like thin, I like light." criteria. Although there are exceptions, like Carters, most clad knives are thicker and heavier than their monosteel equivalents. If you want to stay with carbon steel, then a Sakai Yusuke from BlueWayJapan may be the way to go. There have been several positive reviews of the knife on the forum.

Another alternative is to look at stainless monosteel knives. Your situation is complicated by your location, in that many of the sources for knives that are regularly recommended on the forums will mean customs duties for you. So, I went looking for alternatives handled by Canadian shops.